1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dishwasher and, more particularly, to a sump assembly mounted on a bottom of a tub of a dishwasher for supplying washing water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a dishwasher is a machine that washes and dries dishes loaded on upper and lower racks by spraying washing water pumped out by the washing pump toward the upper and lower racks through spraying nozzles. The dishwasher includes a tub defining an outer appearance of the dishwasher, at least one rack disposed in the tub to load dishes, at least one spraying nozzle for spraying washing water to surfaces of the dishes, and a sump assembly mounted on a floor of the tub to reserve the washing water.
In addition, a turbidity sensor is installed at a location, through which the washing water flows, such as an inner-side portion of the sump assembly or a heater for heating the washing water being introduced into the sump assembly to detect a pollution level of the washing water during the washing process. When it is detected that the washing water is polluted above a predetermined level, the polluted washing water is exhausted and new clean washing water is introduced.
According to a dishwasher of the related art, food residue adhered to the dishes is removed from the dishes by pressure applied by washing water sprayed from a spraying nozzle. The food residue removed from the dishes is collected on a floor of the tub. A filter is mounted on the top surface of the sump assembly to filter relatively large particles of the food residue, thereby preventing a flow-resistance of the washing water from increasing by the foreign objects adhered in the sump assembly. A disposer for grinding the introduced food residue is mounted in the sump assembly to prevent the food residue from clogging a passage of the spraying nozzle when the washing water flows to the spraying nozzle.
The heater heats the washing water to a predetermined temperature to improve the washing efficiency. The heater is mounted in the tub.
However, in the dishwasher of the related art, a washing water reserving space in the sump assembly is too small to reserve a large volume of washing water.
Furthermore, since the heater for heating the washing water is mounted out of the sump assembly, an overall size of the dishwasher increases.
In addition, since the filtering efficiency of the filter is not so high, relatively large amount of foreign objects such as food residue are introduced into the sump assembly, the spraying hole of the spraying nozzle is frequently blocked.